Determined1

I was one of those people who made what are my chances posts because I wanted other people's opinions. It definitely alleviates some angst that people may have about the application process. It's obvious that the users on gradcafe do not have the final say on your chances, but it is therapeutic to feedback from others especially if you don't have someone at your home institution to help guide you or even if you are a first in your family to make it this far. Everyone does not come from the same background or have access to the same resources. I like receiving feedback from people who have been in my position before and so far I have received great advice that I would not have gotten had I not published my post. Perhaps the moderators could make a section in the Application that is strictly for "Chances" inquiries.

I was asking the same question myself not too long ago. Averages on websites and especially this website can seem really intimidating. I also thought that I was a great applicant for grad school until I heard so much fuss over super high GREs and 4.0s at ivy league institutions. The best advice someone gave me, call the department. Ask them to speak with a member of the admission committee. At my school of choice, not only did she inform me that the average (of ppl who actually accepted) was way lower than what is advertised, but provided additional information not found on the website. She also told me what components of the application were most important and referred me to some grad students (also assured me she'd be looking for my application in the fall, cross my fingers). So basically I feel a lot better. If you're feeling unsure, call the department and speak with a secretary or an admission committee person.

Thanks!

I'm applying in the Fall to a variety of different schools from ivy leagues to state schools, I'm applying based on professor not the actual schools. Areas of Interest: Educational Psychology, Curriculum and Instruction, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Age: 20 Ungrad School: HBCU GPA: 4.0 GRE: 1130 LOR: Strong SOP: Strong Research Experience: CIC-SROP Scholar (Big Ten), Ronald E. McNair Scholar, Research in collab w/a professor at another school Extra Curriculars: Plenty all w/leadership positions POI: all have the same interests as I do. Awards/Honors: Plenty on school level, state level, and regional level The only thing that I feel will hurt my application is my GRE and undergrad institution (one school told me they do admissions based on a sum of scores; HBCU score is significantly less than Ivy League or even Public Universities which is crazy to me). What do you think are my chances are for a PhD program?

Another major difference, is that if you need your scores in the Fall you should take the current GRE. If you take the new GRE you will not get official scores until sometime in November if you take the test in August or September. So if your application deadlines are Dec. 1 or in Nov I would take the current, otherwise you are taking a chance that your scores will not come back in time for your application because the school needs official scores to complete your application.

If you are applying in the Fall you may want to take the current GRE, with the new GRE you will not get your official scores until sometime in November and thats only if you take the test August or September and you will need your official scores for a complete your application. If your application deadlines are more in january and february, then its probably okay to take the new GRE as long as you take it early. gre.org has more details on which is best for you to take.

Thank you! I will definitely start asking people to review my SOP! Info About Me: GPA: 4.0 Conference Presentations: 3 GRE: taking this summer Research Experience: 2 summers of research UM's has two faculty members that fit my interests extremely well. Also I would love to work in their African American Identity lab. My interests in psychology is the African American experience and education. I tried to contact the professors I want to study under but they never responded to my e-mail : (

Hello everyone, I am applying to grad school this fall and I wanted to know if anybody had any advice. My dream school is to study University of Michigan, which is also extremely competitive. I am the only person I know who is applying to grad school, I dont really know what to expect but I wanted to be as prepared as possible. Is there anything that you wish you did or if given the opportunity to go back and change anything, what would you change?

Im preparing by using Barron's flashcards and reviewing word families (many words that mean the same thing or are closely related)

My first post! Im studying for the old GRE now. I heard the new GRE will be more complex and one hour longer. One thing I know for sure is the sentence completion section is different. Now there will be two to three blanks for each question and four multiple choice answers for each blank. In order to receive credit for the question you must get all the blanks correct, there is no partial credit. With the old GRE the sentence completion is two blanks with four multiple answer choices for both blanks.